Architect Robert A.M. Stern passed away on Thanksgiving Day of this year. He’ll be remembered as having a tremendous impact in our society through his architecture practice and his passion for teaching.

We didn’t know Mr. Stern personally - we just encountered him through lectures he presented for various associations such as the Institute for Classical Architecture & Art.

Our favorite “Bob” Stern moment was during a lecture he was presenting for the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. It was a virtual lecture - he was in his home office and was participating in a Zoom webinar with one of his associates in another location operating the slide show. It was like a virtual version of a presentation from a generation ago when a lecturer arrived with a carousel of slides that went onto a projector at the back of the room so the speaker had to say “next slide please” each time they were ready to advance to the next image.

Mr. Stern was known for his appearance - often wearing a suit, pressed shirt adorned with cuff links, a tie and a pocket square. Despite being in the comfort of his home office for the presentation, Mr. Stern was seated behind his desk in a starched shirt, tie and blazer.

In the middle of his presentation, he got a call on his desk phone. Glancing at the phone, he realized it’s a call from someone downstairs - someone trying to get into his building. He had to make the choice as to whether to ignore the call or interrupt the presentation to answer the phone.

Mr. Stern answered the call using the speakerphone function so the national audience of participants in the webinar got to hear the exchange between Mr. Stern and a man who turned out to be the delivery driver for Mr. Stern’s dry cleaner. While it was just a brief moment in the countless public presentations Mr. Stern made throughout his life, we saw Mr. Stern, a man with an international reputation for design and education, decide to share a moment of acknowledgement and thanks for a delivery driver.

One could argue that as a New Yorker, Mr. Stern was obligated to answer a call from someone at the front door of the building in which he lived. Anyone who has ever driven or dared to attempt on-street parking in New York appreciates the enormous challenges of delivery drivers in the city.

One could also argue that Mr. Stern’s thoughtful manner of dress would raise the importance of his relationship with his dry cleaner higher than many others. Or, maybe he was just out of clean shirts.

In any event, it was refreshing to witness a moment in which someone as accomplished as Mr. Stern had the humility to engage a delivery driver interrupting Mr. Stern’s presentation.

Success comes through collaboration. Mr. Stern achieved great success collaborating in academia, in the architecture firm he founded… and with his dry cleaner.

Mr. Stern founded Robert A.M. Stern Architectures (RAMSA) in 1969. We wish continued success to the 250+ designers at RAMSA who will carry forth Mr. Stern’s name and legacy.

Leave a comment below to let us know if you have a Bob Stern story or are aware of his architecture - maybe you’ve seen one of his lectures or have one of his monographs. For example, we have a copy of Paradise Planned - what must be the largest book by weight (13.65 pounds) ever written by Mr. Stern.

Also, you might have a RAMSA building close to you. Examples in Georgia include the Nathan Deal Judicial Center in downtown Atlanta and the Terry College of Business on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens.

Goodbye to Robert A.M. Stern

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Goodbye to Robert A.M. Stern

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